Foot and ankle brace



Feb. 10, 1931. K J. F. FISHER v 1,792,155

FooT AND ANKLE BRACE Filed may 3, 1928 2 sheets-sheet 1 20 f5 i M 7 9 36v/ 19 lf f6 *i f6 ,3 30 $15" F9 l f l i /35 j I v 57 Q W0 I I m .A .fg

. i@ ff ff fa ef d 1 -9- 7 1 53 Swuvmofo cl E Esker Feb- 10, 1931/ '.l.F. FISHER FOOT AND ANKLE BRACE Filed May 3, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 yroo'rgriiiin Nana Bia-aon Appiiatimi aiefifiray e,

I This invention relates toa foot and ankle brace and generally-is animprovement over the construction' disclosedk inv my pending .the backof the leg; wherein the ankle is pro'- lU tected bya rigid elementcapable ofattachf ment vand detachment at will so. as toicause noinconveniencein lacing or unlacing the A shoe; -to provide Ya leg baradapted to move f. from an axis to the ankle joint to avoid rub-,2U-'V15 bing on the leg; to .provide ay construction wherein the liegbar has the proper rigidity l Vand may pivotallymove with minimum fric--Y tion; aconstruc'tion whereinl foot flop is prevented iby a novelspring jmean's7 and@ V20 constructionrwhei'ein such spring means-is'protected and a construction wherein a fallen L ankle is supported.` A YY It `is further aimed toV provide a brace which is fully flexible andreversible soas 25 to work Vequally well on either 'sidey of the foot. gn

With the foregoing and additional YobyJects and advantages in view, suchas wili v lappear from a consideration of the descrip- Ytion followingtaken in connection with'V acof Figure 1 Figure 3 is a sectional viewtaken on the.Y

y40 line 3- 3 of Figure 1; v

, Figure 4 is a fragmentary elevation taken opposite to Figure 1; l

Figure 5 is a sectional view takenv on the line 5*-5 of Figure 1;

f 15l Figure 6 is a sectional view taken on Ythe Figure is a sectionalview takenon the line 7-7 of Figure 1; p n p Figure 8 is asectional viewtaken on the line 8 8 of Figure 1; andieee. Semaine. V274,832.' '1"'-VFigure 4Elisa detaily sectionalview taken' von *y Y'the line 9 9 ofFigure l.

11 iofffwhicli Vthe improvedfo'otffaiidy aifikle "brace-f is .a'ttachedgvertical: anchor?A Apla is shown' 'at l2 being lfastenedfin'placefdeofthe shoe desired, as by meansofremovlY able, bolts p13 passing"`,traiisverselythrough the said' heel 11. V c f 4, passesthrough a braceMadapted to 'sup-1* port afal-lenankle and which brace'flemayi' be ofleather or other'le'zrible material. tened to the top of the brace latasbyrnezins of rivets 15,v isa strap lfwhose `e'nfds Vare the shoekat't'he ankle lof the wearer.

y.ally vconnected., as a ,bolt V-19 'to the ,anchor plate`l12 which/isalso-of finetal. The bolt-19 is` horizontallyV disposedv andis locatedopposite the ankle vjoint of thewearer so tha't'ftli'e bar 18 may movein simulation with the leg whenworn.

ofleatheror the like adaptedto surround thelegof the wearer andbe'jconn'ectedlatr its ends adjustab'ly vasby means of lacings 21YJorriv ari-renna, oirliamr'rriv'rnnn; ivoafrircareorirmi-. f

n ReferringSpee'ficallytothe 'drawings'.{lQ i .i application fork aninvention of similar titlef. designates raf'conventional'Shoef'tothgfhei `i 5 Serial No. 238,624, filed Decembery 851192.77.r

Y Itis definitely aimed to provide al con-Y i "struction wherein*friction and rubbingfis overcome at Athe top of the legv bar and attachably sofas to be applied. tov either side` one k@raie toits ie,retest seen'argare I f eeparabieaaaadjustablephrougheii@ medium cklerl.The strap v16 thus, surrounds Y lfr'leg vbrace or bar-18, of metal,ispivotfv y 'Said'bar 18 yatthe top.' carries a '2Ok Y or anyother'approved means.v Rigidly `fasf tened tothe top of k.the bar.18,*.as yat 22,k is an arcuate/metallicbraee237 whose endopp'osite tobar 18 has the strap 20 fastened thereto as at 24. By 'providing thisrigid element y23 at this p0int, friction .and rubbing at the back ofthe leg of the wearer is avoided. I

25 of niietal againstjthe bar 18'and the bar 1 Y Bolt19 alsofastens anouter plate or: b'ar '25 is connectedtothebarzlS to 'movetherewith,further-bya removable bolt 26. Bolt 26fastensla bracket 217v in pla'ceasit passes through the llatterjwhich 'has a. portion Yl'ol cated betweenthe bars `18 and 25 and an in- 9 yturned 'flange 28 whichy overlapsanedge of 'the bar 18y so that the bracket 27 cannot turn.

',Bar'18 adjacent its lower end has a laterally. elongatedslot 29 oflSuch' shapeasvtoretain Y a ball *bearingv 3Q which is in'` constantlengagement with the plate12, and ,thus mini-k e mizes frictionincidental to swinging moveend of which as at 32, a contractile coilspring ment of the bar 18 on the axis`19. The bolts 13, as best shownkin Figure 7," connect an angle member 31 to the vShoebat one 33 isfastenedV which spring at its other end Vas at Sais fastened to theadjacent end of the bracketQ?, the springthus tending to nor-l mallyhold and urge thebar 18 to avertical position' and kthustending' toprevent flopV Y yof-'the foot.

The bar .or plate at its upper lendhas.y

an outwardly Vdeflected or offset bifurcated portion 35'whose slot isYdesignated 36. An

arcuate metallic bar isprovidedwithan ing a leg bar, a shoe having ananchor mem ,l ber secured thereto, means pivotally connectingthe bar toVsaid anchor memberarjplate onsaid bar, said platehaving an oset bi`furcated portion, a strap to secure the device about the ankle,an'arcuaterplate engageable by said strap'V and disposable betweensaidolfsetportlonfand bar, said arcuate member hav. lng a button engageablein said bifurcation,

a bracket secured between said barrand plate,

attaching button '38: having afreducedshank ,y 39 which is slidableintoand out of thelslot Y. 36,-thevadjacentrzportionof bar 37 being-refr.,

ceived friction tightbetween said'vterminal or bifurcatedportion 35-andbar 18,''1`Ahe Y the strap 16, soV as to prevent rubbing andinconvenienceby the latter.. f

t It will be realized that'the brace islflexible and will yield with thefoot andleg. VAt the Y .Y Y same time the structure is reversible andwill work equally well on'either side ofthe foot.`

Various changes may be resorted to pro- :vided they -fallf within thespirit and scope of Y the invention..4 L y f 1 l n A I claimas myinvention .e

arcuate bar BZthusoccupiesa position-under signature.

1. `A brace ofthe classdescribed compris@l y y ing a leg bar, means tosecure the same 1n place on the leg, an anchor plate attachable Q i' Ito a shoe, means pivotally connecting the leg 1 Y bar and anchor plate,an outer plate engaging said leg bar having an oifsetbifurcated portion,meansto secure the device aboutthe ankle, a plate engageable .by thestrap and disposable between said offset portion and Y, t' bar, thefirst mentioned plate having abutton y' engageable in said bifurcation,a bracket secured to and between saidouter plate and leg bar,'an anglemember, a spring secured to the angle member, av flange of the angleplate protectingthe spring from below, and said .spring being secured tosaid bracket.

- 2. A brace of the class described comprising a leg bar, al shoe havingan anchor member secured thereto,'means pivotally connectingV the bar tosaid anchor member, a plate on said bar', said plate having an offsetbifurcated portion, a strap to securethe device about the ,'ankle, anarcuate plate engageable by said strap and disposable between Asaidoffset portion and bar,` said arcuate-member having a but-ton engageablein said4 b1furcat1on,a

bracket secured between said bar and plate, a ball bearing carried bythe fbar and in lengagementwith the anchor plate, andV av springconn'ectedto the bracket and said anchorplate Y 'tending to .urge the.leg bar tov ver-tical posif.l n tion.

`A brae ofthe classv A,compr-s'.

. rac

